1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to shipping and transporting vehicles, and in particular relates to such vehicles which are adapted to ship various types of construction materials.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the construction industry, it is necessary to move large quantities of building materials from wholesale supply houses to construction sites, cabinet shops or the like. The transportation of such materials is done in a variety of trucks, vans and other shipping vehicles. However, since many construction sites, cabinet shops and similar facilities are located in residential and downtown areas, it is impractical to utilize certain vehicles having oversized truck beds. As a consequence, certain types of construction materials that are longer than the truck bed is wide must be shipped in a lengthwise position along the truck bed, resulting in wasted space and an inefficient movement of the goods. It is not uncommon to have to make several trips to the same location from one wholesale supply house, frequently with less than full loads on the transport vehicle.
Types of materials that must be handled with care in the shipment to cabinet shop and construction locations include high-pressure laminate plastic sheets. Such materials come in long lengths, often as long as 12 feet. However, such materials cannot be efficiently shipped on a truck of the type conventionally used for shipping such building materials, unless such materials are extended along the truck bed in the lengthwise direction. This results in the inefficiencies discussed above.
Of general interest with respect to the present invention are the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 3,583,570 to Black; 4,304,336 to Mays; and 4,360,298 to Fischer et al. The Black patent discloses a carpet display rack formed with a radius with allows carpet to be bent about the rack. The Mays and Fischer et al. patents disclose racks for supporting materials on end, such as glass sheeting.